all in a day's work

i realize that after 10.5 months, some of you devoted readers may have no idea what my daily life looks like. some of you [ahem, vicky, ahem!!] live similar lives so you shouldn't bother to read this post. unless for some reason you can't fall asleep tonight. in that case, read it and give me credit for helping you out.

ride my red bike amid the obas and ojis in their fields. the wide brimmed hats shading their leathery skin. some smile with a few teeth, or nod a greeting. a few boys bike slowly up ahead, one holding the backpack of a lone guy jogging in the center of their group. a few echo my "good morning"s while others shyly avoid eye contact as i pass. park my bike, lock it, grab my bag, kick off my sneaks, put them in my dust-filled locker, and change to indoor shoes. a few more "good morning"s to students before i switch to japanese as i enter the teachers room. it's pretty quiet at 8:10am, only a few voices and some comings and goings. i read or shuffle papers for 10 minutes before the vice principal announces our morning meeting. we stand, bow slightly, say "ohayou gozaimasu" in unison, and sit down as the invididual announcements begin.

i have around three classes per day at junior high. some are what i consider to be better than others. today i read some sentences and the class repeated me. i handed out a few stickers when kids were brave enough to raise their hand and answer a question. i led a warm-up game for 7 minutes. i elbowed a few kids [or tapped gently on their arms, depending on my mood at the moment] to wake them up. i took a hard-cover comic book from the hands of a 14year old in the back of the room. he quietly put his head down to sleep. i gave it back 3 minutes later, motioning that he should put it away and not continue reading. he set it on the desk behind him and went back to snoozing. on my next walk around the room, another boy had a mini comic book in his lap and i gave him my best "i'm not impressed" look. immediately he responded "sumimasen! sorry!! i don't read a book", put it away, and picked up his pencil. seriously, what's a girl to do?!

3:30 is cleaning time. it ends 15 minutes later and the kids have homeroom for 5-10 minutes. i anxiously watch the clock till 4pm when the last bell rings and i gather up my stuff to head home. i say the equivalent of "sorry for disturbing you" to the high-ups at the front of the room, wave bye to a few genki kiddos, change into my sneaks, & unlock my bike. past the obas and ojis STILL in their fields, admiring the glorious art they've created out of soil and seeds. if its a special day, i get to go to the board of education and attempt communication with an office of 5 people who can't speak english, including our ALT "supervisor". hmmm... then its home sweet home to eat an ice cream bar, catch up on all the emails i've received since i last checked it on my cell phone [probably about 45 minutes ago...], and count down the hours till i have someone to talk to on skype.